Geography
Ursenbach has an area of 9.14 km² (3.53 sq mi) . Of this area, 5.74 km2 (2.22 sq mi) or 62.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 2.84 km2 (1.10 sq mi) or 31.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.53 km2 (0.20 sq mi) or 5.8% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.02 km2 (4.9 acres) or 0.2% is either rivers or lakes.
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 3.1% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.9%. Out of the forested land, 28.9% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.2% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 24.2% is used for growing crops and 36.1% is pastures, while 2.5% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
The municipality is located in the Oberaargau region. It consists of the village of Ursenbach with the old church, the upper and lower village sections and the hamlets of Hirseren, Richisberg, Lünisberg and Hofen as well as scattered farm houses throughout the hilly landscape. In 1888-89 Ursenbach gave up the settlement of Hubbergviertel (population 220) to Dürrenroth and Walterswil and in return got Richisberg (population 43) from Oeschenbach and Lünisberg (population 118) from Wynigen.
On 31 December 2009 Amtsbezirk Aarwangen, the municipality's former district, was dissolved. On the following day, 1 January 2010, it joined the newly created Verwaltungskreis Oberaargau.
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